Introducing Students to Rheological Classification of Foods, Cosmetics, and Pharmaceutical Excipients Using Common Viscous Materials

Rheological measurements are very important tools for the characterization of the flow and deformation of a material, as well as for optimization of the theological parameters. The application and acceptance of pharmaceutical formulations, cosmetics, and foodstuffs depends upon their rheological characteristics, such as texture, consistency, or viscosity, which also influences their stability and bioavailability. This article describes a simple 2 h laboratory procedure for the rheological characterization of some foods, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical excipients using a digital Brookfield viscometer. The experiment was designed to introduce basic rheological concepts to undergraduate Health Science students, such as Pharmacy and Biochemistry students, allowing them to perform viscosity measurements of ideal and nonideal fluids and to classify the flow behavior based on the experimental flow curves of common viscous materials.